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Alex Wood

Rebound Candidate: Alex Wood

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On a per-inning basis, left-hander Alex Wood has been one of the most effective pitchers in Major League Baseball throughout his career. He debuted in 2013, just one year after the Braves chose him in the second round of the draft, and has regularly kept runs off the board at an excellent clip. Now 29 years old, the soft-tossing Wood owns a terrific 3.40 ERA/3.49 FIP with 8.24 K/9, 2.55 BB/9 and a 49 percent groundball rate over 839 innings.

All of Wood’s above-average production has come as a Brave and a Dodger. He spent last season with the Reds, who acquired him in a blockbuster deal a few months before the campaign began. Wood, the Reds hoped, would help their rotation reverse its fortunes after a horrid 2018. It turned out that the Reds made enormous strides in that area in 2019, but Wood had nothing to do with it. Rather, they can thank Luis Castillo, Sonny Gray, Anthony DeSclafani and the now-departed Tanner Roark for the progress they made.

The Reds could have retained Wood in the offseason and anticipated a bounce-back effort, but they instead saw him leave via free agency. That came after a poor year in which Wood was limited by injuries, which have been a problem for him all too often. Wood has racked up fewer than 155 innings four straight years, including 35 2/3 last season. Back troubles limited the Reds’ version of Wood, keeping him from debuting until the final week of July. Wood only lasted a month after that, totaling seven starts of 5.80 ERA/6.38 FIP ball with 7.57 K/9 and 2.27 BB/9. His groundball rate (38.2) dropped by almost 12 percent from the prior year along the way.

The 2019 season was undoubtedly a disaster for Wood, though he nonetheless entered the free-agent market as one of the most accomplished hurlers available. He does, after all, rank 28th among starters in ERA and 32nd in FIP dating back to the beginning of his career. New teammate and fellow southpaw David Price is among several prominent names grouped with Wood in those regards.

Wood and Price may well end up playing significant roles for the World Series-hopeful Dodgers’ rotation this season. Price is a lock after coming over in a headline-grabbing trade with the Red Sox, and Wood might join him after reuniting with the Dodgers on a one-year, $4MM guarantee as a free agent. Despite his impressive track record, Wood couldn’t land a job via the open market until Jan. 12. Still, it’s tough to find fault with the gamble on the deep-pocketed Dodgers’ part.

This has been a difficult year-plus for Wood, but he has been an asset for almost all of his time in the majors. With that in mind, it would be fair to give him the benefit of the doubt for now. If Wood’s healthy in 2020, he may emerge as a steal for Los Angeles, arguably the favorite to win the World Series this year. With Wood complementing Price, Walker Buehler, Clayton Kershaw and Julio Urias, and with Dustin May in reserve, maybe this will finally be the season the Dodgers return to the top of the MLB mountain.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Images.

AL East Notes: Morton, Betts, Margot, Blue Jays, Wood, Sanchez

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Former Astros righty Charlie Morton became the latest player to address Houston’s electronic sign-stealing scandal, telling MLB.com’s Juan Toribio and other reporters that “personally, I regret not doing more to stop it” during his time with the club in 2017, while also admitting that he wasn’t certain what steps he could have taken to directly halt the sign-stealing system.  Morton has already spoken to some Rays teammates about the situation, and added that he didn’t believe the Astros were still doing anything illicit last October, when Houston defeated Tampa Bay in the ALDS.

2017 was a particularly unique year for Morton, as he wasn’t just a big part of a World Series-winning team, but his entire career was revived while pitching for the Astros, turning him from a borderline journeyman to his current top-of-the-rotation status in Tampa.  Despite his own fond memories, however, Morton knows and accepts that the Astros’ achievements have been overshadowed by the scandal.  “Certainly the public perception of that win has changed, and my peers, too….There are moments during the World Series that will always be special to me, that won’t be ’tainted.’  But certainly that’s justified, that’s a justified perception to have, and what people have expressed,” Morton said.

More from around the AL East…

  • Between all of the uncertainty surrounding the Mookie Betts trade and yesterday’s Padres/Rays trade that sent Manuel Margot to Tampa Bay, there has been some speculation that the Padres could be clearing center field for a late strike at acquiring Betts.  However, Alex Speier of the Boston Globe (Twitter link) suggests the opposite, noting that since Margot was reportedly part of the Betts negotiations between the Red Sox and Padres, sending Margot to the Rays indicates that San Diego decided to go in another direction.
  • The Blue Jays went into the offseason prepared to aggressively search for pitching, only to have to ramp up their approach when the free agent market moved much quicker than anticipated, Sportsnet.ca’s Shi Davidi writes in a wide-ranging overview of Toronto’s winter moves.  Davidi’s piece provides a breakdown of how the Jays pursued their targets, ranging from big names (i.e. Gerrit Cole, Yasmani Grandal) on both the rotation and position player fronts, as well as looking for value by checking in with seemingly just about every pitcher available.  The Winter Meetings seemed to be a key pivot point, as one player agent told Davidi that the Jays began to take a “totally different” approach in negotiations: “It’s like they realized what they’d been doing wasn’t working and decided to change things up.”  In essence, the Toronto front office reversed its strategy, abandoning the plan of acquiring an ace-level arm first and then adding more pitchers to a new tactic of signing mid-rotation hurlers (i.e. Tanner Roark, Shun Yamaguchi) before finally landing a big fish in Hyun-Jin Ryu.
  • Adding to the long list of pitchers known to have garnered interest from the Blue Jays, Davidi reports that Toronto was also “in the mix for” both Alex Wood and Angel Sanchez.  Wood ended up signing with the Dodgers, one of his former teams, in mid-January on a one-year contract worth $4MM in guaranteed money (and another $6MM in incentives).  Sanchez bounced around multiple farm systems from 2011-17 with a Major League resume that included only 12 1/3 innings for the 2017 Pirates before finding success pitching in Korea over the last two seasons.  While Sanchez received some looks from the Jays and other MLB teams, he ended up heading from South Korea to Japan, signing a multi-year deal with the NPB’s Yomiuri Giants.

Dodgers Designate Casey Sadler

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The Dodgers have designated right-hander Casey Sadler for assignment, the team announced. The move clears roster space for left-hander Alex Wood, whose deal with the team is now official.

This could go down as a short Dodgers stint for Sadler, whom they acquired from the Rays last July. In terms of bottom-line results, though, Sadler was quite effective with both teams in 2019. The 29-year-old put up a stingy 2.14 ERA over 46 1/3 innings between the clubs, also notching a terrific 51.8 percent groundball rate and walking only 2.53 batters per nine.

Sadler also posted a career-high 95 mph average fastball velocity in the majors last season, but he barely struck out six hitters per nine. He also managed a bel0w-average 9.1 percent swinging-strike rate, and ERA indicators such as FIP (4.38), xFIP (4.78) and SIERA (4.58) weren’t high on his work.

Last year may have been a mixed bag at the MLB level for Sadler, but there’s no disputing that he was a standout in the minors. Sadler worked 38 2/3 innings innings in Triple-A ball and recorded a 3.26 ERA with 12.3 K/9 against just 1.4 BB/9. That performance, not to mention Sadler’s run prevention in the majors last season, may put him on other teams’ radars. However, the fact that Sadler’s out of minor league options could work against him.

Dodgers Sign Alex Wood

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The Dodgers have agreed to a deal with free agent left-hander Alex Wood, reports Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic (via Twitter). The deal will guarantee the ACES client $4MM on a one-year term, with incentives that can push the total to $10MM, Rosenthal adds (via Twitter). Wood has already passed his physical, Rosenthal further reports. Wood himself has confirmed the agreement on Twitter.

The reunion marks a nice birthday present for Wood, who turned 29 today. The lefty has done his best work in Dodger Blue, combining for a 3.46 ERA and 3.50 FIP over 434.2 innings in three-plus seasons in Los Angeles. Over that time, Wood only managed an average strikeout rate (22.3%), but he proved stingy with walks (6.7%) and induced ground balls on over half the balls in play against him. That mid-rotation output prompted the Reds to acquire him (alongisde Yasiel Puig and Kyle Farmer) last offseason for a pair of well-regarded prospects.

Unfortunately, a back injury limited Wood to seven ineffective starts in Cincinnati. He didn’t make his season debut until July 28, and only once did he exceed six innings in a start. Never an extremely hard thrower, Wood’s 89.98 MPH average sinker velocity last season, per Brooks Baseball, was down over two MPH from his career-best 2017 effort.

2019 struggles notwithstanding, it’s not hard to see the upside for both parties. Wood was an above-average starter as recently as 2018. He has four career seasons in which he was worth at least two wins above replacement, per Fangraphs, and as noted, he remains quite young for a free agent. Injuries have hampered Wood in recent seasons, to be sure, as he’s been on the injured list each of the past four years. There’s little long-term risk here for the team, though, and their $4MM investment is minuscule for a franchise which ended the 2019 season with an estimated $210MM payroll, per Roster Resource.

Wood, meanwhile, gets an opportunity to reestablish his health. Should he reclaim his prior form, he’d likely earn some or all of the available incentives. More importantly, he can reenter the open market at a still-young 30 next offseason in search of the multiyear deal for which he seemed ticketed before his 2019 tribulations.

Wood joins a crowded Dodgers’ rotation mix behind Clayton Kershaw and Walker Buehler. LA hasn’t been shy about moving pitchers in and out of the rotation under manager Dave Roberts. Wood figures to compete with Kenta Maeda, Julio Urías, Tony Gonsolin, Dustin May, and the newly-signed Jimmy Nelson for rotation innings. Surely, some or all of those pitchers will log some time out of the Dodgers’ oft-maligned bullpen as well.

So continues an offseason trend for the NL West favorites. Nelson, Wood, and reliever Blake Treinen have all been brought in on one-year deals this offseason. All three have shown high ceilings in the past, but struggled through injuries or ineffectiveness (or both) in 2019. They may not be the stars Dodger fans have been coveting, although each brings quite a bit of upside. None, it should be noted, would preclude the Andrew Friedman-led front office from striking on a bigger name if the opportunity were to present itself.

Free Agent Faceoff: Wood Vs. Walker

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The market for starting pitchers has shrunk substantially since free agency opened at the beginning of November. Gerrit Cole, Stephen Strasburg, Zack Wheeler, Madison Bumgarner, Hyun-Jin Ryu, Dallas Keuchel and Cole Hamels have all found contracts. Jake Odorizzi, whom MLBTR ranked as the game’s 10th-best free agent at the outset of the winter, accepted a qualifying offer from Minnesota. The Twins also re-signed Michael Pineda and just picked up two more starters in Rich Hill and Homer Bailey.

With all of those pitchers and several others (Kyle Gibson, Tanner Roark and Julio Teheran, to name some) off the board, it looks like a pretty bare-bones group at this point. So, if you’re still banking on finding a No. 1, 2 or 3 type of starter in free agency, you may be out of luck. Even a surefire No. 4 or 5 seems like a lot to ask right now, but there are at least a few unsigned starters with upside who won’t cost a bank-breaking amount to sign. Left-hander Alex Wood and righty Taijuan Walker are two examples.

Between Wood and Walker, the former wins this battle in a landslide as far as major league track record goes. The 28-year-old flew under the radar to some degree from 2013-18, an 803 1/3-inning stretch in which he combined for a sterling 3.29 ERA/3.36 FIP with 8.27 K/9, 2.57 BB/9 and a 49.5 percent groundball rate with the Braves and Dodgers. Thanks to that run, the Reds acquired Wood last offseason with the expectation he’d give them front-line production. Instead, though, back problems limited the relatively soft-tossing Wood to seven starts and 35 2/3 frames of 5.80 ERA/6.38 FIP ball.  Since then, there hasn’t been any reported interest on MLBTR’s pages in Wood, who has quickly gone from coveted starter to buy-low candidate.

Walker’s in a similar position – someone who could be a high-reward pickup at a reasonable cost. Now 27, Walker was an extremely hyped prospect with Seattle, which chose him 43rd overall in 2017. However, Walker didn’t prove to be irreplaceable to the Mariners over a fairly small sample of action, and they wound up trading him to the Diamondbacks in a late-2016 blockbuster.

Walker and his ~94 mph fastball were quite effective in his first season in Arizona – 3.49 ERA/4.04 FIP with 8.35 K/9, 3.5 BB/9 and a 48.9 percent grounder rate in 157 1/3 innings – but he has barely pitched since. He tossed 13 innings in 2018 before undergoing Tommy John surgery that May, and totaled just one frame last season (in the D-backs’ final game) after shoulder injuries stunted his TJS recovery. Arizona then cut Walker loose via non-tender instead of paying him a projected $5MM-plus in arbitration. Since then, at least one team – Walker’s old employer in Seattle – has shown interest in signing him.

Walker and Wood appear as if they’d be sensible additions for the Mariners or any other team that wants to take a back-of-the-rotation risk on a short-term deal. Odds are that neither player will secure a multiyear guarantee, though a one-season contract with a club option for 2021 could be a worthwhile gamble. Wood seems likely to rake in more money (MLBTR predicted he’d get a one-year, $8MM pact), but does that make him a better bet than Walker? Which of the two would you sign?

(Poll link for app users)

NL Notes: Keuchel, Cards, Mets, Reds, Wood, Fish, DJ

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Dallas Keuchel and the Braves are squaring off against the Cardinals in a memorable NLDS, but the left-hander recently told Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch he’s surprised the Redbirds didn’t make a bigger effort to sign him when he was a free agent from November to June. “Honestly, I was fully expecting an offer from them,” said Keuchel. “Just never really came about.” Keuchel, whom the Braves signed to a one-year, $13MM deal after a protracted standoff between him and the entire league, added that he viewed St. Louis as “a good destination,” which could be notable with the soon-to-be 32-year-old set to hit free agency again in the coming weeks. Meantime, his club will try to eliminate the Cardinals in a do-or-die Game 5 on Wednesday.

  • The manager-needy Mets may have a couple in-house candidates for the job in quality control/outfield coach Miguel Rojas and Single-A manager Edgardo Alfonzo, per Mike Puma of the New York Post. The 38-year-old Rojas, who’s the son of longtime MLB outfielder/first baseman/manager Felipe Alou and the brother of former outfielder Moises Alou, has been a member of the Mets organization for 14 seasons (including eight as a minor league skipper). Now 45, Alfonzo’s best known for a highly productive run as a second/third baseman for the Mets from 1995-2002. Having coached in the organization since 2014, Alfonzo’s hoping New York considers him to replace the fired Mickey Callaway, Puma reports.
  • If the Reds are going to re-sign pending free-agent left-hander Alex Wood, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com estimates it would happen by way of a minor league contract. Considering Wood’s past success and relative youth (29 in January), getting him to accept a non-guaranteed deal may be unrealistic. Regardless, it’s inarguable Wood is coming off a contract year to forget. Acquired from the Dodgers last winter, Wood made only seven starts and threw just 35 2/3 for the Reds this year as he battled nagging back issues. Wood managed an ugly 5.80 ERA/6.38 FIP with 7.57 K/9, 2.27 BB/9 and a 38.2 percent groundball rate when he was healthy enough to take the ball for Cincy.
  • It’s already known the Marlins had interest in DJ LeMahieu last winter, but Joe Frisaro of MLB.com writes the Fish “made a strong push to sign” the second baseman in free agency. The former Cub and Rockie ultimately accepted a two-year, $24MM contract from the Yankees, with whom he has enjoyed a career season. The low-budget Marlins, meanwhile, ended up guaranteeing a mere $4.5MM to players in free agency, inking infielder Neil Walker (who served as a lesser version of LeMahieu for the club) and reliever Sergio Romo to one-year contracts.

Reds Activate Alex Wood, Designate Ryan Lavarnway

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The Reds have activated left-hander Alex Wood from the injured list and designated catcher Ryan Lavarnway for assignment, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic tweets.

As expected, the 28-year-old Wood will finally make his Reds debut against the Rockies on Sunday. He joined the Reds in the offseason as part of a radical makeover of their rotation. In addition to Wood, whom the Reds acquired from the Dodgers, they brought in fellow starters Sonny Gray and Tanner Roark via trades. Gray and Roark have performed well, which has helped lead to a vastly improved Cincy staff, but back problems have prevented Wood from pitching this year. The pending free agent will now try to rebuild some of his stock as he gears up for a potential trip to the open market in a few months.

Lavarnway, 31, just signed with the Reds on July 18 after the Yankees released him. Cincinnati added Lavarnway to help cover for catchers Curt Casali and Kyle Farmer, who went on the IL that day, but the team activated Farmer on Sunday.

Once a top prospect with the Red Sox, Lavarnway has struggled considerably over 445 major league plate appearances with several teams since he debuted in 2011. He did mash in a small sample size with the Reds before they designated him, though, as Lavarnway hit .278/.316/.722 with two home runs in 19 plate appearances. However, Lavarnway batted an uninspiring .213/.333/.315 with three HRs in 129 PA with the Yankees’ highest minor league affiliate before they let him go.

Alex Wood Scheduled For Season Debut On Sunday

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TODAY: Wood is scheduled to start Sunday’s game against the Rockies, the Reds announced (Twitter link).

TUESDAY: Rehabbing Reds left-hander Alex Wood finally looks to be nearing his 2019 major league debut, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com writes. Barring setbacks, Wood – who began a 30-day rehab stint July 6 – figures to join the Reds sometime in the next two weeks.

The 28-year-old Wood, out all season with back spasms, created plenty of optimism during a rehab start Monday with Double-A Chattanooga. It was the fourth minor league start of 2019 for Wood, who threw six innings and 85 pitches of one-run ball. Reds manager David Bell was encouraged afterward, saying: “Excellent reports. He was really good. He felt great. He pitched really well, was really sharp. Everything was positive.”

Bell likely thought he’d be gushing over Wood all season, as the hurler was one of the Reds’ key pickups during the winter. He came aboard in a noteworthy December trade with the Dodgers that also delivered Yasiel Puig, Kyle Farmer and the now-unemployed Matt Kemp to Cincinnati. Wood was then coming off an eminently productive three-plus-year run in LA, with which he put up a 3.46 ERA/3.50 FIP, 8.3 K/9, 2.5 BB/9 and a 52.1 percent groundball rate over 434 2/3 innings.

In light of what Wood accomplished as a Dodger, the Reds were banking on him to help fix what had been a terrible rotation. Even without Wood, though, the Reds’ starting staff has taken enormous steps forward this season. Luis Castillo has turned into a front-line performer, offseason additions Sonny Gray and Tanner Roark have met or exceeded expectations, and Tyler Mahle and Anthony DeSclafani have been fine in complementary roles.

Despite the vast improvement of their rotation, the long-suffering Reds possess the NL’s fourth-worst record (45-53, putting them 6 1/2 back of a playoff spot). Whether the team will sell at the July 31 trade deadline is unknown, but it’s clear the pending free agent Wood won’t be among its trade chips. However, it does appear that Wood will have around two months to showcase himself to Cincy and the rest of the league before a scheduled trip to the open market.

Pitcher Notes: Fried, Eovaldi, A. Wood, Brewers, Rangers

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Braves southpaw Max Fried exited his start Monday with a blister on his left index finger, David O’Brien of The Athletic writes (subscription link). The Braves will re-evaluate Fried on Tuesday, per O’Brien, who points out blister issues have “plagued” the 25-year-old in the past. Blisters can be serious enough to lead to injury list stints, though Fried is optimistic he’ll avoid an IL placement. The Braves’ 58-37 record and 7 1/2-game lead in the National League East have come thanks in part to Fried. He turned in five shutout innings in a victory over Milwaukee on Monday, giving him a 4.08 ERA/3.86 FIP in 103 2/3 frames on the season.

The latest on a few other hurlers…

  • Red Sox soon-to-be closer Nathan Eovaldi will embark on a rehab stint Wednesday or Thursday, likely with Triple-A Pawtucket, Alex Speier of the Boston Globe tweets. President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said Saturday that Eovaldi could rejoin Boston’s staff sometime this week. Eovaldi, who has been out since late April because of right elbow surgery, will be pitching in a full-time relief role for the first time in his career when he returns. The 29-year-old has started in 152 of 160 appearances thus far.
  • Reds lefty Alex Wood will make his third Triple-A rehab appearance Wednesday, when he’ll throw four innings and 60 to 65 pitches, per Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer. It’s a good sign for Wood, whom back problems have stopped from pitching in in the majors in 2019. His return, if it comes, could be a boon for a Cincinnati team that isn’t waving the white flag on a playoff push despite a 43-48 record.
  • The Brewers placed right-hander Corbin Burnes on the injured list Monday because of shoulder irritation, recalling fellow righty Burch Smith from Triple-A San Antonio to take his place. The club put Burnes on the shelf in the wake of his most recent blowup Sunday, when he allowed four earned runs on four straight hits and failed to retire a batter in a loss to the Giants. Even though the 24-year-old Burnes has struck out just better than 13 batters per nine innings this season, struggles preventing home have led to an ineffectual 9.00 ERA/6.12 FIP across 46 frames. Burnes didn’t give up any homers Sunday, but he has allowed HRs on an astounding 39 percent of fly balls this season.
  • Rangers pitching prospect Yerry Rodriguez is done for the season because of a UCL sprain in his right elbow, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News relays. The club will shut Rodriguez down for six to eight weeks and then re-evaluate him. Rodriguez, who entered the season as FanGraphs’ 14th-ranked Rangers prospect, notched a brilliant 2.08 ERA/3.16 FIP with 10.38 K/9 against 2.57 BB/9 in 73 2/3 Single-A innings this season.

Injury Notes: Stroman, Pollock, Wood, Peralta, Reed, Gennett

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The latest on some injury situations from around baseball….

  • Marcus Stroman was originally scheduled to start for the Blue Jays against the Red Sox tonight, but the team has opted to instead use Derek Law as an opener and Thomas Pannone as a bulk pitcher.  Stroman left his last outing with a left pectoral cramp, and the Jays will delay his next start by at least one day, though “there’s a chance that he won’t pitch until after the All-Star break,” manager Charlie Montoyo told media (including MLB.com’s Alexis Brudnicki.  “He’s still the same way, day to day,” Montoyo said.  “But again, if he’s not 100 percent, we’re not going to pitch him….If he plays catch today and feels like he could throw a bullpen or something nice and easy, that he could go, then we’ll pitch him.”  Stroman’s injury isn’t thought to be serious, though the Blue Jays are being as cautious as possible with their ace, particularly given his status as one of the game’s top trade deadline candidates.
  • A.J. Pollock is beginning his minor league rehab assignment tonight with the Dodgers’ high-A affiliate in Rancho Cucamonga, as per the team’s Twitter feed.  Pollock has been out of action since late April, when a staph infection in his right elbow led to surgery to remove metalwork in that elbow from a previous procedure in 2016.  The outfielder had managed only a .223/.287/.330 slash line over his first 115 plate appearances as a Dodger before hitting the IL, and is hopeful of returning to the Los Angeles roster after the All-Star break.
  • Reds manager David Bell provided updates on several injured members of the Cincinnati roster in his pregame meeting with reporters, including Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer.  Alex Wood is slated to begin a rehab assignment this week, as the lefty will pitch for the first time this season after being beset with back problems since Spring Training.  Wandy Peralta (hip) may need a minor league rehab game or two, though he had a bullpen session today and is pretty close to a return.  Cody Reed (knee strain) is back “throwing” since hitting the IL in late May, Bell said, though “he’s probably still a couple of weeks away from pitching.”
  • There has also been “no talk of IL at this point” about Scooter Gennett, Bell said, after Gennett left Wednesday’s game with tightness in his left groin.  Gennett didn’t play today, as Bell decided to give the veteran two full days of rest since the Reds have an off-day on Friday.  Gennett only recently returned from a right groin strain that had sidelined him since March 22.

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